The present invention relates to a thermal foot cover that can be worn over a shoe-encased or a boot-encased foot, or can be worn in place of a shoe or a boot to protect the wearer's foot from the effects of cold temperatures.
The cooling of the extremities, particularly the feet, has long been recognized as a serious deterrent to performing activities in cold temperatures and various proposals have been advanced for dealing with this problem. Most previous footwear, which has been designed for use in cold weather, has utilized hard and heavy materials on the sole and sometimes on the uppers as well. For instance, hard rubber soles are most commonly used for winter boots and overboots. Since such footwear is generally constructed with rigid sole structures, carrying and storing the footwear can be difficult.
Also, previous footwear, designed for use in cold weather, has utilized conventional insulating materials, such as goose down, stiff insulating foam or synthetic fibers, to reduce the loss of heat from the wearer's foot. While these insulating materials attempt to minimize the heat loss from the wearer's foot, none of these insulating materials reflect the wearer's body heat back inside the footwear. Also, these insulating materials are not readily washable. Another disadvantage of these insulating materials is that they increase the bulk of the footwear, which makes the footwear more difficult to carry and store.
A foot cover that is easy to manufacture, is easy to use, is lightweight, is easy to carry, is easy to store, is washable and is highly effective at keeping the wearer's feet warm would be of considerable value.